Southeast Asia, a great place and home to plenty, as well as various wildlife. With thousands of national and conservation parks, Asia is known for its nature.

It has all sorts of biome and terrains, from a desert to a beautiful tropic rainforest, South East Asia is the perfect destination for all of you animal lovers out there.

Southeast Asia is mainly categorized as a tropical area in the continent, this means that there aren’t many cold areas. Most of the countries in South East Asia only has two seasons, one of it is rainy, and the other is drought.

This is why it is also a perfect destination for animals that are seeking asylum and comfort while it is winter elsewhere. Animals such as fishes and birds often migrate far away, and it is within the areas of South-East Asia due to the warm weather.

In today’s article, we will showcase some of the hidden gems of wildlife in South East Asia. From many different countries, some you may have even heard before. So before waiting any longer, let’s get to it!

Komodo Dragon

Still, believe that dragons don’t exist? Well, come visit Indonesia to meet the largest lizard on Earth. The komodo dragon is a lizard that is native to only the Komodo island in Indonesia. There are many unique facts about this animal.

First of all, the komodo dragon is a great hunter and can eat lots of animals. They eat pigs, deer, snakes, and more meat.

They are strictly polygamous animals as they mate with different mates each time. And one fun fact about a komodo dragon is that this animal does not travel far away.

It is a slow-moving animal, but on top of that, this animal does not like going far away from the place it was born.

Asian Elephant

In some countries, this animal plays an important role in culture, tradition, and even religion. They are intelligent and social animals, but often abused and misused in places such as circuses.

That is why the population of this animal has declined rapidly and it is now categorized as an endangered animal. If the hunting and abusing keeps on happening, it might even be an extinct animal soon. Speaking of animals extinction, read here about the animals extinct in 20th century.

An elephant’s culture, females are more social than male elephants. This is shown by female elephants traveling as a herd, where males often go solo. The herd would even be lead by the oldest female in the group.

Hornbill

Hornbill are birds that have a uniquely shaped mouth. Its mouth is orange colored and is shaped similar to a banana. This animal is usually found in Malaysia and it is one of the popular animals in the zoos.

Besides its appearances, the hornbill is also a loyal animal. The male hornbill would take care of its female mate. It would help it make nests in the trees and bring food to its female mate. When the female hornbill is taking care of the child, the male hornbill would pass on worms to feed them both.

Orangutan

Different from monkeys, orangutans may have the same appearances. But orangutans are a completely different animal, they are more social and more intellectual. Their DNA is 97% related to humans’ DNA.

These animals are not aggressive, but they are calm and inquisitive. They can be found all over South East Asia such as Borneo, Malaysia and Sumatran Island of Indonesia.

Currently, orangutans are endangered primates and approximately 3000 of them are hunted every year. Most of the reason they die is due to habitat destruction as they spend most of their life in trees.

Philippines Eagles

The animal symbol of the Philippines and one of its beloved animals is the Philippines eagle. They are gigantic eagles and can grow up to a height of 1 meter as well as a wingspan of over 2 meters.

The Philippines eagle isn’t a fast reproducing animal, that is why it takes so much time for them to lay a single egg. A Philippine eagle would only lay an egg every 2 years, hence this is also one of the reasons why this animal is critically endangered now.

Sumatran Tiger

Ever thought to find tigers in Southeast Asia? Well, the Sumatran tiger is the smallest species of tiger amongst the tiger’s family. It is also the shiest and nonaggressive, besides when it goes hunting of course. Due to its small size, the Sumatran tiger also can climb onto trees and run with incredible speed.

This animal can only be found in the Sumatran island of Indonesia, and surprisingly, this is the last species of tiger alive in Indonesia. The rest have been hunted and went extinct. So the country itself is doing its best to preserve this wildlife before it goes extinct.

Spinner Dolphin

Our last but not least animal is an aquatic mammal that comes from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans near Vietnam. These dolphins are very active and they might be the ones you see on your television.

They get their name as the spinner from their movement as they spin and leap across the air. Due to this, circuses and water parks have catch and hunt these dolphins. Their population is not 3 times lower and that there isn’t much recovery in solving this issue.